


deep as a secret nobody knows

by victoria_p (musesfool)



Series: which grows higher than soul can hope [1]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Epiphanies, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, the skywalker family tragedy, the skywalkers have no chill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 15:00:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16663015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesfool/pseuds/victoria_p
Summary: "If Vader captures you, if he threatens to torture or kill you, you tell him you're Padmé Amidala's daughter."





	deep as a secret nobody knows

**Author's Note:**

> Contains canon-level references to torture. Title from the New Pornographers. Familiar lines come from the movies. Except the one that comes from the comics. Thanks to Silveronthetree for listening and helping to make this a better story.

After the stormtroopers dump Leia in a cell, she takes advantage of the solitude to steel herself. She trusts Artoo to get her message to General Kenobi; she just has to hold out long enough against whatever Vader has planned to give the droid sufficient time to find him. She thinks briefly of her parents, hoping they won't be punished because she got caught. She tries hard _not_ to think of the advice Papa gave her before she left. 

If Vader captures you, he'd said, hands tight on her upper arms, and she'd tried to shrug it off, though she knew it was a real threat this time, if he threatens to torture or kill you, you tell him you're Padmé Amidala's daughter.

Leia had never pushed for the identities of her birth parents; she was sad that they'd died, but she'd never felt the lack. To learn her birth mother's name under these circumstances was shocking. But it also gave her a name to put with that sad, beautiful face she saw sometimes in her dreams. 

The real question was, why would _Vader_ care?

Papa shook her gently. Leia, are you listening to me?

Of course, she replied, dismissing her confusion and meeting his gaze alertly.

Tell Vader if you can't see any other way out, but do not, under any circumstances, tell the Emperor if you are brought before him. He must not know.

And that raised a million more questions. Vader was simply an extension of the Emperor's will, the durasteel fist without the velvet glove he used in the Core. Everyone knew that. Telling Vader was telling the Emperor. Wasn't it?

Before she'd had time to ask any of those questions, Papa had hugged her and sent her on her way.

And now she's here. She doesn't want to tell Vader anything, let alone this secret that shouldn't concern him at all, and she tucks it down as far as she can beneath the walls she's learned to build in her mind. They won't withstand sustained assault, but she doesn't think she'll need to hold him off that long before he gets frustrated and kills her before she can spill any secrets. It's not the best outcome for her, but it's probably the safest one for the Alliance.

*

Leia doesn't know how long the interrogation has been going on. Her body aches and the walls in her mind are thinning. Vader's wilier than she expected, given his reputation for blunt force. He keeps trying to trick her into revealing the location of the base rather than simply demanding it outright, and it's hard to keep track of all his feints and fakeries with her mind clouded by drugs and exhaustion. He redoubles his efforts, and she's not sure what she's let slip of that final conversation with Papa, but suddenly there's a shift in his questions from where is the rebel base? to what does your father want you to tell me?

And Leia tries, valiantly, to withhold the knowledge that Papa gave her, this information that will somehow buy her time or respite or some _unfathomable_ thing from Vader's assault. But it is knowledge she was told to share under duress and share it she does.

She chokes out, "Padmé Amidala was my birth mother," and the temperature in the cell drops from uncomfortably cool to absolutely arctic in the space of a heartbeat.

"Liar," he roars at her, somehow in her head and in her ears at the same time.

"No," she cries. And again, "No," as he somehow lifts her into the air without ever touching her. 

He shakes her, the way a tooka shakes its prey before it kills, and she gasps as his invisible grip tightens. Her hands come up to bat uselessly at his hold on her throat and unwilling tears leak from the corners of her eyes. And then he drops her onto the bench. The torture droid squeals and disassembles itself as Vader backs away from her, hands held wide and high, as if _he's_ surrendering to _her_. And somehow, on his way out the door, he kills both guards, leaving nothing behind but their dead bodies, eyes wide and staring and necks twisted at disconcerting angles, and an icy chill that cools the sweat on Leia's skin to a disgusting clamminess.

*

Leia pulls herself together and takes the stun batons from the dead guards' holsters. It's unfortunate that neither of them has a blaster, but she'll take whatever weapons she can get. The door has to open again at some point, and she needs to be ready.

When the door finally does open, she brings the stun batons up, but it's Vader. He makes a dismissive sound and she's frozen in place. Then he grabs her by the elbow and begins dragging her towards the door. The angle isn't good, but she tries to hit him anyway.

"This would be easier if you refrained from trying to stun me."

"Why should I make it easier for _you_?" she snaps back.

Another one of those dismissive grunts, then, "I am expediting your transfer to another facility, where you will be _safe_."

Leia has control of her body again (and she refuses to acknowledge how terrifying it was when she _hadn't_ ) but she stops dead, forcing him to drag her forward again. "What? Why?"

"Because Tarkin means to terminate you."

She can't help the way her lip draws up in a snarl. "The coward."

"Indeed. It is best that you not be here when his men arrive."

 _His_ men? she thinks, but doesn't ask. She's pretty sure Vader wouldn't answer. Political infighting and jockeying for power is common among the Imperial High Command and the sector governors, but Vader has never visibly been part of it, as far as she knows. Vader is loyal to the Emperor and speaks with his voice. He will kill anyone who gets in his way, regardless of their political affiliation, even though he himself holds no known military rank. It's a truth as basic as breathing.

"So, what? You want to kill me yourself?"

He stops so abruptly that she trips over her own feet and only his grip on her arm keeps her from pitching face-first onto the deck. "No."

She waits, but no other response is forthcoming, and they stare at each other for a long, awkward moment, until she feels like an idiot. She hopes he does, too.

He jerks her arm and they start moving again, speeding through empty corridors and hurtling down levels on a truly excessive number of turbo lifts. This station isn't just an abomination; it's unwieldy and poorly laid out and she really hopes there's a weakness the Alliance can exploit to destroy it, even if she's still on it when they do. 

When they reach whatever hangar bay he's been aiming for, Vader maneuvers her onto his left side, and if she didn't know better, she'd say he was trying to hide her from the masses of stormtroopers milling around the place. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she catches a glimpse of gold plating and her anxiety spikes. It _can't_ be. She slides another glance in that direction and confirms that her worst fears are true—Artoo has been recaptured, along with Threepio and an unfamiliar Wookiee. She concentrates on her breathing, trying to control her fear, but Vader senses it. Or maybe something else. His head turns like a predator scenting prey, the lights glinting off the polished durasteel of his helmet as if in warning. The temperature drops again, and she shivers at the chill.

"You attempted to send the plans to Obi-Wan Kenobi," he says, more venomous than she's ever heard him.

"I couldn't possibly say," she replies, tilting her chin up and trying desperately to keep her mind blank.

"That ship," he jerks his helmet towards a freighter that barely looks space-worthy, "was caught in our tractor beam as it tried to reach Alderaan."

Leia's heart freezes in her chest as the implication sinks in. "Tarkin is planning on using this station to destroy Alderaan."

"Yes. You are quite clever, Your Highness. You may yet save your planet." He starts dragging her again, this time towards the control room the droids were headed towards.

"Why do you care?" The words burst out of her before she can stop them. If he tells her, maybe it will give her some clue as to what's he's thinking.

"I don't," he replies, and Leia doesn't know how she knows, but it's clearly a lie. 

She doesn't have time to call him on it before he opens the door to the control room and shoves her inside. The room isn't large and it's already full of her droids, two stormtroopers, the Wookiee, and an old man in a shabby brown robe. Vader stands behind her, one hand clamped tightly on her shoulder, as the door slides shut.

Their shocked response to Vader's appearance would be hilarious if they weren't all going to end up dead.

Vader steamrolls right over their exclamations of surprise. "So, Obi-Wan, we meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner. Now, I am the master." He has a weapon in his free hand, but if that's what she thinks it is, there's no room in here for him to light it.

The old man lowers his hood in one swift motion. "Only a master of evil, Darth."

The old guy in the threadbare robe is General Kenobi? She's not sure what she was expecting but it wasn't this.

Before Vader can respond to that, Artoo starts beeping shrilly at him. Leia doesn't understand binary, but it sounds angry to her. 

Threepio says, "Artoo, are you trying to get us all killed?" The protocol droid turns to face Vader. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"I have no doubt he did," Vader replies and though his vocoder doesn't allow for much expression, he sounds dry, almost amused, if such a thing were possible. Leia's surprised he hasn't reduced both droids to scrap for their cheek.

The shorter of the two stormtroopers reaches into a rucksack and pulls out something that looks surprisingly like the lightsaber Vader is holding. The movement catches Vader's attention before the trooper can ignite it.

"A padawan, my old master? Was your failure with me not enough?" He tilts his mask towards the stormtrooper. "Well, boy? Will you fight me?"

The stormtrooper yanks his helmet off—he's young, no older than Leia herself and possibly even younger—and says, "You killed my father."

"I've killed very many fathers, boy. You'll have to be more specific."

Leia covers her face with her hand and the other stormtrooper mutters, "Aw, kid, no."

General Kenobi holds up a hand and murmurs, "Luke," but the stormtrooper ignores him and jerks his chin up defiantly. 

"Anakin Skywalker. Remember how you betrayed and murdered him?"

Artoo burbles something else that causes Threepio to say, "Oh dear, oh dear," but no one is paying the droids any attention. The tension in the room is so thick Leia would swear she can feel it pressing against her skin.

Any further revelations are forestalled by the crackling of the public address system. "Princess Leia, I know you are still on this station," Tarkin says, his voice loud and echoing in the small room. "If you do not show yourself immediately, we will commence firing upon Alderaan, so that you and the rest of the galaxy understand the full power of this station."

"No!" Leia whirls, desperate for the door, only to find herself confronted with the solid wall of Darth Vader's chest. She thumps it with her fist. Maybe if she hits the right button it will kill him. "Take me to him."

Vader grabs her hand in what for him is a surprisingly gentle grasp. "No," he says implacably. "Do you see what your lies have cost me?"

"What?" she says, trying to make sense of that statement.

"Not you, Leia." General Kenobi shakes his head. He gives Vader the kind of disappointed look that would have made Leia wilt if it had come from her parents. "Your choices are what cost you. Let the children go and take me prisoner instead."

"Ben, no."

At the same time, Leia can't help but blurt, "We're not children."

"What makes you think I will not take them anyway, and leave your smoldering corpse behind, Obi-Wan?"

"We don't have time for your threats and your posturing," Leia says, trying to get her hand free of Vader's. "I have to save Alderaan."

"I have already disabled the weapons array," Vader says. "They will attribute the sabotage to you, Your Highness. But you must get off this station."

Leia has to shout over the cacophony of voices in the wake of this shocking announcement. "Why? Why would you do that?"

"There is no time to discuss it. You." He points at the stormtrooper. "That is your ship out there?"

The stormtrooper startles and straightens up. "Yeah, I mean, yes sir. Er, Lord Vader."

"Take the princess and the boy—"

"And the droids," Leia interjects.

Vader ignores her. "Safely away from this station."

"Like you're not going to be tracking us," the boy—General Kenobi called him Luke—says scornfully.

"Of course," Vader replies. "And you will have enough time to find the weakness in this ridiculous waste of resources and destroy it, and Tarkin with it, when it arrives at your rebel base." He looks down at Leia. "And then I will come for you both."

"Do as he says, Luke."

Luke glares at General Kenobi. "How can you say that? This is insane."

"I have to agree with the kid," the stormtrooper says. The Wookiee barks in agreement. "This is insane. But if it will get us the hell out of here, I'm all for it."

"Not you, Obi-Wan. You will remain here with me."

"No, Ben. I won't leave you here with this monster."

"I will be fine, Luke."

"Don't lie to the boy, Obi-Wan. You will be dead." He hits the button to open the door. "Now cease your prattling and go before I change my mind."

"Much as I hate to agree with Vader," Leia says, "if we're going to go, we need to go now." She meets General Kenobi's gaze. "General, if you survive, get word to my father."

"That will not be necessary," Vader rumbles.

She ignores him the way he'd just ignored her. "Thank you for coming to my rescue."

"It is his fault you needed rescue in the first place!" Vader exclaims.

Leia looks up at him. "You have an interesting view of events, Lord Vader, considering you were the one who captured me and had me brought to this battle station." She shakes her head. She can't let herself be distracted. "But you are correct that we don't have time to discuss this now." She hesitates for a moment, and then swallows down her nausea before reaching out a hand and touching his gloved wrist lightly, somewhat amazed at her own audacity in the moment. "If my birth mother's name truly has some meaning for you, please don't kill General Kenobi."

She slips past him out the door into the hangar bay, leaving the men, the Wookiee, and the droids staring after her in shock. She sighs. "Come on, whoever is coming. I'm a decent pilot, but I don't want to be responsible for flying this bucket of bolts when it falls apart." She waves a hand at the beat up old freighter that is apparently going to be her ride to Yavin IV. 

"Hey," the stormtrooper—she really needs to learn his name—says. "The _Falcon_ is the fastest ship in the galaxy. She might not look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

Leia sniffs. "If you say so."

"She made the Kessel run in twelve parsecs."

The droids and the Wookiee all talk at once in response to that bit of nonsense, and Luke rolls his eyes, apparently having already heard and dismissed this spiel. 

"Whatever, Han, we can't let Darth Vader kill Ben."

"No," Leia says, "we can't stay here when this station needs to be destroyed." She touches his elbow. "If you wish to stay and avenge your father, or protect General Kenobi, I understand, but I think the best revenge would be to destroy this station and strike a blow against the entire Empire."

"You really think you can take Vader in a fight, Luke?" Han scoffs. "You could barely fend off a remote."

"There's no need to be rude." Leia, immediately defensive of Luke (or perhaps immediately on guard against Han, she's not sure) glares at Han, who glares insolently back for a moment before dropping his gaze and shrugging.

"So I should be polite and let the kid get himself killed?" He turns to Luke. "Here's some free advice, kid: never get in the middle of a lover's spat, especially once the weapons are hot."

"They're not—Ben said—" Luke begins hotly but Han just shakes his head.

"Trust me, kid, you don't get animosity like that between old war buddies."

Leia sniffs dismissively and speaks before Luke can respond. "I don't have time for this nonsense. Let's go."

Her urgency seems to have finally communicated it to the others—they follow her up the ramp and into the freighter. Leia concentrates hard on what comes next—the plans, the destruction of the Death Star, a reunion with her parents. She doesn't think about Vader sabotaging the station on her behalf, or the strange conversation he and General Kenobi were having, which felt like it was only half-spoken and in a foreign tongue, for all that they'd been speaking in Basic the whole time. She doesn't want to think Han is right about them—about anything really, the more he talks, but especially that—but something odd is going on. Papa might know. He was right though—he usually is; the information she'd given Vader had saved her life, and likely her planet. She doesn't know what to do with that, so she shunts it aside for now, and spends the next few hours heckling Han as they escape from Imperial custody and head for Yavin IV.

*

They hold a medal ceremony in the middle of the evacuation from Yavin, because they've won two major victories, even if the cost was most of their pilots and almost the whole fleet of snub fighters. Mon is already gone—she was in hyperspace long before Leia ever made it to the base—but General Dodonna and the other members of the command staff agree that they should celebrate.

Leia manages to remain regally solemn while putting medals around Luke's and Han's necks, but she can't help letting her smile out when a revived Artoo makes his presence known.

The party is raucous and lasts long into the humid, tropical night, despite all the work that still needs to be done. Leia wakes to a hangover and the news that Darth Vader has arrived on base and is demanding to see her.

Luke is in the hallway waiting for her. He doesn't look to be in any better shape than she is, though he's holding a hot cup of caf.

She plucks it out of his unresisting hand and drinks it in one long gulp before she speaks. "Please tell me I'm still drunk and hallucinating."

Luke snorts. "I wish. I don't think anything we drank is strong enough to produce a hallucination like this." Then he sobers. "Ben's alive though." Leia gives him a surprised look. "He's here, too. I think—I think what you said made an impact."

"There's a first time for everything, I suppose." But she still doesn't know _why_. Padmé Amidala stood in opposition to everything Vader represents. Papa says she was one of the greatest politicians the Republic had ever seen, and one of the founding lights of the Rebellion. The history books say she was the last casualty of the Clone Wars, killed by rogue Jedi in the assault that allowed Palpatine finalize his takeover. The galaxy no longer speaks of her, though; outside of Papa's office, she's never heard the name, not even from Mon, who must have known her too.

Han's hanging around the conference room they've been directed to, and Luke says, "Am I glad to see you," which is good, because Leia might be feeling the same, but she doesn't want to have to say it. 

"Where's your other half?" she asks instead.

"I'm just here for the theatrics," Han says, deadpan. "They wouldn't let Chewie in—something about how he'd go right for Vader's throat and get himself killed." Then he straightens up, squares his shoulders. "I've never heard of anyone talking Vader into anything, let alone not killing someone. Let alone a someone claiming to be a Jedi." He ticks each item off on his fingers, and then points them—rudely, in Leia's opinion—in her face.

"General Kenobi _is_ Jedi," Leia says at the same time Luke says, "Ben _is_ a Jedi."

Han blinks. "You know, it's a little creepy, the way you two just did that. But not as creepy as the fact that Vader is here, now, without the 501st backing him up." He gives her a once-over that's almost completely non-sexual; somehow, it's more disturbing than the ones where it feels like he's imagining her without her clothes on. "And it's because of you, or something you said." He shakes his head. "What did you say, Your Worship?"

Leia's still deciding how to answer that when the door to the conference room opens, revealing what looks like the world's worst dinner party. Vader is looming over General Dodonna, haranguing him about being a traitor to the Empire. The soldiers stationed around the perimeter of the room look ready to jump out of their skins; she's amazed they haven't bolted already. General Kenobi sits on the other side of the table, arms crossed over his chest, one hand stroking his beard, looking only slightly the worse for wear since the last time she'd seen him. Something in his expression lightens when he sees Luke, and his mouth curves in a small, secretive smile.

"Ah, young Luke, it's good to see you," he says, rising slowly. 

"Ben," Luke exclaims, rushing over to him. "I'm so glad you're alive. I have so many questions."

Before they can come tumbling out of him, Vader whirls around, cape flaring like gigantic batwings, and says, "I, too, have many questions, Obi-Wan."

"No," Leia says. "It's my turn to ask the questions, Lord Vader, and your turn to provide some answers. Starting with, how and why are you here?"

Vader turns towards her, and the full weight of his gaze makes her feel like she's in the crosshairs of an ion cannon. The hair on the back of her neck prickles and even in the humid warmth of the room, a chill runs down her spine. "Your base here is no secret now, Princess. And your defenses are paltry at best." His helmet swings back to Dodonna. "I expected better of you, traitor. You were a great warrior once."

"You don't speak to him," Leia says, pointing towards Dodonna. "You speak to me." She taps her own chest lightly. 

"I was not aware that you were at the top of the command structure, Your Highness."

"You know damn well that I'm not. But you asked to speak to me when you showed up here, so _I'm_ the one you'll speak to." She ignores Luke's shocked gasp, Han's strangled curse, and the glint of amusement in General Kenobi's eyes. She glances over at Dodonna instead. "Please leave us, General. I'm sure you have more important things to do than be yelled at by the likes of Lord Vader." 

Vader's respirator makes a staticky sound and Dodonna says, "I don't think—"

"Please, Jan," Kenobi interrupts. "It's probably safest for you to go." 

"If you say so, General Kenobi." Dodonna inclines his head. "It's an honor to serve with you again, sir."

"Take the guards with you," Kenobi advises.

"Of course." Dodonna turns to Leia. "We'll be right outside, Your Highness."

She smiles warmly at him, though they both know Vader could kill every person in this room and there's nothing any of them could do about it. "Thank you. I appreciate that, General."

Vader's hands are on his hips and Leia imagines she can see steam rising from his helmet as his impatience grows. It's not smart to keep pushing him, but she can't help herself. It's the only means of payback currently available to her for the torture he'd put her through.

The door slides shut, and Leia says, "Now, where were we?" She taps her chin with her index finger, and then points it at Vader. "Right. You were just going to tell me what the hell you're doing here."

Vader draws himself up to his full height and Leia has to force herself not to take a step back. "I will hand Obi-Wan over to this rabble if you and young Skywalker come with me."

"Like hell they will," Han shouts.

At the same time, Luke spits, "It's not enough that you killed my father? You're going to kill me too?"

Leia makes a cutting motion with one hand and they subside. "After what you did to me, why would I go anywhere with you, Lord Vader, let alone expose Luke to your tender mercies?"

Vader makes an abortive move to raise his hands and for a moment he looks like he doesn't know what to do with them before he hooks his thumbs in his belt. "If you had told me you were Padmé's daughter at the outset—" 

"So somehow it's my fault that you tortured me?" Her voice rises and she takes a deep breath, remembering all Mama's lessons on how to command respect and attention without losing control of herself or the situation. Her voice is strong and steady when she says, "No, Lord Vader, if you didn't go around torturing people, you wouldn't find yourself in the awkward situation of needing something from your victims and not getting it." She takes a step forward, raising her chin and trying to meet his gaze despite the helmet.

"Have you no fear, Princess?" If he were anyone else, she'd say he sounds proud.

"No," she says, willing steel and scorn into her voice. "Not of you." It's a lie, of course, but she won't let him see it.

Still holding her gaze, he says, "Obi-Wan, tell her highness that it would be best for everyone involved if she did as I've commanded."

"Oh no, Darth, far be it from me to interfere in this little negotiation." Kenobi sits back down as if he hasn't a care in the world. He actually looks entertained. Leia's starting to wonder if Han wasn't right about his sanity. He gives Leia another small smile, this one encouraging, and gestures in her direction. "By all means, continue."

They never find out what Vader was going to say next because the door opens and Papa steps into the room. He's pale and disheveled, as if he hasn't slept in days, but Leia doesn't care. She turns and flings her arms around him, holding him close and breathing in his familiar, comforting scent. He presses a kiss to the top of her head before disentangling himself and facing Vader.

"Kidnapper," Vader snarls. The temperature in the room—warm despite their attempts to keep the base cool—plummets.

"How dare you?" Leia snaps back. "He's my father in all the ways that matter, regardless of biology. You don't have children so how could you know—"

"I don't have children because they were stolen from me," Vader thunders, pointing a threatening finger at Papa. "By Obi-Wan, and by this man who calls himself your father." The room shakes, and cracks radiate ominously through the stone walls.

The answer to her questions coalesces in Leia's mind and it's too horrific to even contemplate, so she pushes it away.

"An earthquake?" Han says incredulously, putting a hand on Luke's elbow to steady him, and reaching out a hand towards her before he thinks better of it. She notices, though, and gives him the tiniest of half-grins before latching onto Papa. She feels curiously stable and Vader stands as though he's anchored to the rock, the eye of this particular storm.

"Stop that," she says, glaring up at him. Papa's hand tightens around hers in a warning that she ignores. "Or you'll kill us all."

"The only ones who matter to me are you and young Skywalker," Vader replies, but the vibrations cease immediately, which only makes Leia more suspicious. 

"We only did as Yoda suggested," Papa says.

"I didn't think you'd survive," Obi-Wan adds. His voice is soft, regretful. "And I wanted to save Padmé, and protect the children from the Emperor." All amusement is gone from his expression; he looks like a sad old man now, and Leia's heart aches for him. "Since I couldn't protect you."

Vader swings around to face Obi-Wan, and that's it, Leia thinks, he's going to kill the old man, but he just lets out an inarticulate growl and somehow causes the conference table to crumple in on itself with a pained metallic shriek.

"Thank you for your restraint," she says, and even she isn't sure if she's being sincere or sarcastic. Either way, it disrupts the awkward moment between Vader and Kenobi, and hopefully lightens the mood just enough to keep Vader from killing anyone. "It's bad form to kill your allies."

"They are not my allies."

But Leia's mind is already racing ahead, trying to back up whatever her mouth has just said. "We share a common enemy, Lord Vader. I've found that is frequently enough."

"You presume much, Your Highness."

"Do I?" She cocks her head and studies him for a moment—the mask obscures all expression but she feels like she's getting better at reading him, and he seems willing to give her enough rope to hang herself. "I've simply considered your recent actions and drawn a few conclusions."

"Leia—" says Papa.

"Hear me out." She flashes him a tenuous smile and turns back to Vader. "Lord Vader sabotaged the Death Star and allowed us to escape it with the plans containing its weakness. Before that, he was planning to remove me to a place safe from Tarkin to prevent my execution. Now here he is, on a rebel base, offering to trade a known Jedi to the Rebellion rather than killing him—and us—outright." She folds her arms over her chest. "Sounds like a rebel to me."

"He tortured you," Luke exclaims. "He killed my father."

"No," Vader says.

"Yes," Leia says. "I don't like it any more than you do, Luke, but if this gives us a way to kill the Emperor—"

"You presume _too_ much, Princess."

"So you're not planning to betray your master?" Kenobi asks, as casually as if he's discussing the weather. He looks up from his contemplation of the crumpled table. "I thought that was the way of the Sith."

"Still your tongue, Obi-Wan, or I will cut it out."

"No one's cutting out anyone's tongue," Leia shouts. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and tries to regain control of the situation. She shoots Luke a fierce look and then glares at Vader and Kenobi. "This is why I do the talking and you do what I tell you to."

Han huffs but keeps his mouth shut for once. Luke looks like he wants to say something but presses his lips together unhappily when she catches his gaze. Kenobi raises his hands in surrender, but she makes a note to keep an eye on him; he seems far too nonchalant about the whole situation.

"Then you are planning to set yourself in the Emperor's place, Your Highness?" Vader says. "If that is the case, then perhaps your presumption has merit."

"Of course not," she replies. "We plan to restore the Republic."

"The Republic was weak and corrupt," Vader says. "Run by a lot of short-sighted criminals looking only to line their own pockets, and a few weak-willed idealists who allowed themselves to be taken in by a Sith Lord in the name of security."

"Was Padmé weak?" Papa asks, his grip on Leia's hand almost painfully tight now.

"She was the exception to the rule, as you well know. You are not fit to even speak her name."

"And you destroyed everything she stood for," Leia says before Papa can respond and get himself killed.

"I did it _for_ her," Vader insists. He glances toward Luke for a moment. "Anakin Skywalker was weak and his weakness destroyed him. It is through _power_ that the galaxy will be saved." He clenches a fist for emphasis, and Leia swallows hard, remembering the effect of that gesture in her cell on the Death Star.

But Vader has responded to her anger, not her fear, and so she breathes through it—reminds herself that she _can_ breathe—and says, "And yet the galaxy is still in flames, reeling from your Emperor's attempts at control. People will always rebel against tyranny, Lord Vader. History has shown that again and again."

"Spare me the speeches, Your Highness. It is action that will determine the fate of the galaxy, not words."

"Yes," she says, surprising everyone in the room by agreeing with him. "Our actions in this room right now." She gives Papa's hand a comforting squeeze and then slips her hand free so she can take another step forward, putting herself right up in Vader's personal space. Once again, she has to push aside the nausea from the memory of the last time she was this close to him. "You've done terrible things, and you will have to live with the consequences of that, but you can still make some amends. You can begin by helping us save lives rather than taking them."

"You are attempting to appeal to an idealist who no longer exists," he says. "Should I join your Rebellion, it would be at the cost of Imperial lives. I am not a negotiator. I am an executioner. You know this. Don't try to pretend you would use me in any other fashion."

She nods reluctantly. "People will die, yes, but fewer than if the Empire continues its course of destroying anyone who disagrees with its policies." She touches his wrist, astonished yet again at her own bravery. "And perhaps we can finally bring peace to the galaxy."

She stares up at him, attempting to find and hold his gaze through his helmet, and holds her breath for a long moment, waiting for his response.

"I tortured you," he finally says.

"Yes. And don't think for one moment that I've forgiven you for it. But the Alliance is more important than any one person's feelings. Even my own."

Vader shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "You truly are your mother's daughter."

"Yes," she says again, thinking of Mama, not Padmé, just as she's thinking of Papa when she says, "And my father's, too."

Luke lets out a sharp gasp—she's not surprised he's put it together, and she's going to have to explain it all to him later, before anyone else can fill his head with more lies. They've been lied to enough, she thinks. 

Papa murmurs, "Leia," but she ignores him, as well, bending the entirety of her being towards getting through to Vader.

The moment stretches too long and she wonders if she's pushed too far when Vader abruptly says, "Very well. You have certainly inherited their stubbornness and reckless disregard for their own lives."

Leia lets out a nervous laugh. "Two of my best qualities."

"Leia," Luke says urgently.

"I'll explain everything later. I promise." She flashes him a smile and then turns back to Vader. "Will you be able to work with Papa and General Kenobi?"

"No. You will be my primary point of contact, Princess, you and young Skywalker." Luke looks like he wants to object but is staying silent at her request. "I will be in touch." He sweeps to the door with a flourish of his cape and then turns back to say, "Your death is postponed, Obi-Wan, but be assured, there will be a reckoning between us some day."

"I look forward to it," Kenobi replies. "I always said you'd be the death of me."

"Nobody's killing anybody," Leia snaps, following Vader out to make sure that remains true. "Try not to get into any trouble in the next few minutes, okay?"

Vader's ship is small and sleek, and nobody gets in his way as he marches through the base towards it. 

"Don't make me regret this," she says.

"Second thoughts already, Your Highness?" Again, he sounds dryly amused, a tone she'd never have expected from him before.

She huffs softly. "Second, third, and fourth. If you betray me, I will kill you."

"Yes," he says. "I would expect nothing less." He waves a hand and the hatch on his ship begins to rise. "You should speed up your evacuation. Not every Imperial officer is incompetent." With one foot on the entrance ramp, he says, "Your mother would be proud of you." His vocoder makes a staticky sound that could be a sigh. "Your father is, as well." 

She lifts her chin and meets his gaze again; it's getting easier each time she does it. "I know."

She stands there for a long while after his ship has disappeared into the bright blue sky. Then she takes a deep breath and heads for the mess hall. She's got a lot to do—giving Luke an explanation, getting one from Papa and General Kenobi, overseeing the rest of the evacuation, dealing with everything she's learned and her own feelings about it—and she's going to need a lot of caf to do it.


End file.
